Doctor Who: Deep Breath

Here we go again, Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. 

As a re-introduction to Doctor Who 'Deep Breath' does exactly what it says on the tin: it feels like a breath of fresh air. I loved (well okay, mostly loved) Matt Smith's go as the bumbling Timelord but one aspect of the show that has felt sorely missing from previous years is a nice dark edge. Yes Doctor Who is first and foremost a family show but arguably the best episodes are the ones that really dig deep into the Doctor's psyche, and 'Deep Breath' definitely dabbles with this idea. It's not all great though, for once I can say that this episode could have been cut-down a bit.

As far as the plot goes, there's not a lot here. Which is surprising, because Moffat is known for writing stories where a gazillion different things are going on at once: It's Victorian London and those creepy human-organ obsessed clockwork droids from 'The Girl In The Fireplace' are back and it's up to the newly regenerated Doctor to stop them. Also the Paternoster gang are back to help Clara overcome her alienation with the new Doctor, and for some reason there's a rather poor CGI T-Rex in front of Big Ben. For such a lengthy episode there's a lot of padding, twenty minutes could easily be cut-out of the first half an hour and you wouldn't have noticed. The opening act is really slow, it's mainly a showcase for the crazy goings on at the Paternoster house. I do like Vastra, Strax and Jenny, they're entertaining caricatures but they don't seem to really serve a purpose here other than to share a few wacky scenes with Clara. They've been in quite a few episodes now and they haven't changed at all, the joke where Strax keeps confusing Clara with a boy is funny but it's starting to get stale now. AND YES WE GET IT, THEY'RE A LESBIAN COUPLE! Can we please develop their characters a bit more next time? I fail to see how the Dinosaur contributed anything of note to the episode. It was a nice visual sure (even if the CGI wasn't the best) but did we really have to waste 20 minutes on it? 

The new Doctor is not a fan of his face.

A large chunk of this bloated 75 minute running time is dedicated to dealing with an older, more hostile Doctor. Clara is essentially a surrogate for the audience here, being told off by Vastra for wanting the younger Doctor back in a very meta scene that's definitely aimed at the swaths of fangirls. Even the Doctor himself is confused by his current appearance in a great scene with a street hobo played by Elizabeth Sladen's widowed husband: 'Who frowned me this face?' It's another meta reference poking fun at Capaldi having already been present in the Who universe twice now: 2009's 'The Fires Of Pompei' and Torchwood's 'Children Of Earth'. What's intriguing about this scene is that it really points a finger to his familiar face, which makes me think that a future plot point could be based around where the Doctor gets these faces from when he regenerates. Mirrors also seem to be a recurring theme in the episode, especially when Capaldi is looking at his reflection on the silver plate later on. It's a small moment, but his quick expression of dread makes me wonder where this theme is going.

All this meta narrative about getting us to trust this new Doctor feels a tad misplaced when you look at it, as Capaldi is already marvellous in the role and a million miles away from Matt Smith. His trademark 'attack eyebrows' and evil stares are used to great effect in the second half, he's a Doctor you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. When he abandons Clara there is a niggle of doubt in your mind as to whether or not he was genuinely leaving her and I like that. And as for his confrontation with The Half Faced Man? Judging from the glare he gave the camera afterwards, I suspect he really did push him. Lord knows what the child audience thinks of him but so far he's Doctor you're not sure you can trust, echoing the grumpier 1st and 6th Doctors. Steven Moffat seemed so terrified of our reaction to this darker Doctor he wrote in a potentially tear-jerking scene (I was close) of the past Doctor reassuring Clara/us that the new guy is also terrified of his new persona and to basically have faith in him! All I can say is that it's deliciously refreshing, and I can't wait to see what Capaldi will bring to the role in the future.

MATT'S BACK! *CRIES*

Accompanying the darker Doctor is a return to form when it comes to creepy Doctor Who baddies. The clockwork droids were terrifying in 'The Girl And The Fireplace' and they're terrifying here thanks in large part to Peter Ferdinando as The Half Faced Man. He's quite chilling, particularly in my favourite scene of the episode where Clara talks her way out of being murdered. Everything, from the close-up shots of his freaky eyeball to the badass performance from Jenna Coleman makes it feel incredibly tense, which isn't something Doctor Who has done in a while. I'm hoping we're sticking to the more menacing aspect of Who villains as I feel we've been short-changed recently.

New Doctor aside, I was interested to see what they were going to do with Clara. Throughout Series 7 she was one big enigma so now that her 'Impossible Girl' mystery has been resolved where else do we have to go with that character? The biggest shock of the episode wasn't Capaldi's performance (we knew he'd be great), it was how amazing Clara has suddenly become. From the restaurant scene onwards Jenna Coleman was nothing short of superb in my eyes: whether it was her fantastic argument with Capaldi in the restaurant, the chilling confrontation with the Half Faced Man ('5ft 10 and crying, you didn't stand a chance!') or the 11th Doctor's sudden phone call at the end Coleman showed she had some serious acting chops and portrayed a variety of emotions really well. Her looks of sheer terror when being confronted of the clockwork droids did more than any monster design ever could and it's a great reminder as to why companions are essential to DW. Series 7 Clara worked well enough with Matt's Doctor but they've clearly made an effort to make her a three dimensional character this time around and it's paid off in spades. If this continues Clara could become one of my favourite companions, she was that good.

Eat your heart out Rose.

Now that Capaldi has been properly introduced and the seeds of the next arc put into place (heaven eh? Interesting...) we can finally sit back and enjoy the next 11 weeks after a relatively long wait. Yep you heard that right, no more split seasons or specials, just one long uninterrupted run. I am a bit concerned that aside from the finale there will be NO two-parters again but who knows? Based on Capaldi's performance in 'Deep Breath' we could be in for a treat and thank's to a certain script leak I know we've got some good episodes coming up. 

Positives:

+ Peter Capaldi, duh
+ Jenna Coleman, duh
+ A return to the creepier/darker side of Doctor Who
+ The Half Faced Man
+/- The Paternoster Gang
+ Lot's of great moments, the restaurant scene in particular
+ Matt's tear-jerking phone call
+ A seemingly darker Doctor 

Negatives:

- The first half an hour was a bit slow and could have easily been cut-down
- WTF was up with that Dinosaur?
- Not a lot going on with Jenny, Vastra and Strax

Overall score: 8,5/10

P.S I'm also loving the new theme tune!